Homelessness : The New York City Shelter System

Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – VA estimates that 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many

Every New Yorker has the right to a safe and affordable place to live in. New York’s shortage of affordable housing has reached a crisis point. Poor and elderly people throughout New York City are at a greater risk of homelessness and forced low-income residents do not have food or medical care to stay in their homes. A sinful structure of homelessness in New York City is New York’s shortage of affordable housing. Millions of New Yorkers are desperate to find affordable housing and tens of thousands are forced to live either in dirty shelters or on the streets. Recent data indicates that nearly 60,000 people, including more than 23,000 children, stay in the city’s main homeless shelter system (Guelpa). A small amount of poor renter households received a housing subsidy from the local government. Little assistance is being provided which means that most poor families and individuals that seek assistance

In the US homeless population, veterans are slightly overrepresented (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). To be exact, veterans constitute 12.3% of all homeless adults (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). A study by Harpaz-Rotem, Rosenheck, & Desai (2011) also affirms that roughly 30% are homeless men and 4% are homeless women. By definition, homelessness is not having “a regular or fixed night-time residence,” and homeless people tend to move frequently, stay in homeless shelters, and sleep in places such as vehicles and abandoned buildings (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015, p. 1). With this in mind, it is important to note that homeless veterans are mostly older males who some form of health insurance coverage than other homeless adults, better educated, and have been married or married (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). One would think that these advantages should put veterans at lower risk for homelessness, but this was not the case (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2015). Additionally, a study done by van den Berk-Clark & McGuire (2013) portrays that elderly civilians were less likely to become homeless in comparison to elderly veterans (aged from 51 to 61 years (39%) and 62 years or older (9%)) who were twice as likely to become homeless. Risk factors that can potentially explain homelessness among elderly veterans include life events (e.g., death of spouse or marital breakdown, exiting employment, and evictions), mental illness or medical conditions, minority status, and higher levels of disruptive events during childhood

Homelessness has always been a problem for the United States. Since its birth as a nation, there have consistently been individuals who find themselves without a place to live, looking for shelter with family, friends, or simply anywhere they can find it. These individuals have been targeted as candidates for social aid, but this was primarily provided by churches and other care organizations. However, in the past thirty years the homeless population has increased almost exponentially in numbers. While the cause of this is undetermined, it is quite certain that while the

In the United States, there is an issue concerning homelessness. There are thousands of individuals in America do not have permanent employment nor stable housing. The homeless people live on the streets while suffering from diseases, such as PTSD, and sleep deprivation. Per statics, a high number of homeless individuals involve veterans whom have served the country in some form or fashion. The U.S Department of Veteran Affairs states that the homeless veterans’ population is mostly consisted of males, while only 5 percent is female. This survey conducted by veteran affairs shows most of them are single individuals that came from rural areas, but also suffered from mental diseases, substance/alcohol abuse and even co-occurring disorders; in

47,725 or about 8% of the homeless population are veterans and 50% of the homeless people are over 50 years old in the U.S. Homelessness is an unsatisfactory issue that we as humans do not see the importance of the help they need. In our community, we take things for granted and not worry about the importance of helping others. The unfortunate people living in the streets have passed through difficult times and appreciate small or big things. Homeless is a person without a home, and therefore typically living on the streets. Some homeless people have become abusive of drugs, alcohol, and other different type of drugs. Homelessness is a major problem in our society. Homelessness contaminates our city, makes our city look dirty, and it is priority to fix this problem.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), communities across America identified 49,933 veterans to be homeless in the year of 2014 (NAEH, 2015), This substantial amount is equivalent to 8.6 percent of the total homeless population. While there is no true measure of the number of homeless veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that there are 131,000 veterans who experiences homeless on any given night in the United States. Approximately twice that many experience homelessness over the course of a year (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009).

Imagine not knowing where you will sleep tonight, not having a place to shower nor, having any money to buy food, that is the reality for thousands of homeless veterans living in the streets Los Angeles. As we look into the homeless issue in the city, we realize that the homeless call-out for

American homeless veterans are becoming more prevalent in the United States. Research will show that American veterans are an overrepresented population among the homeless in the U.S. A homeless veteran is an individual who lives on the streets, in abandoned buildings, vehicles, encampments, shelters, or transitional housing (Veterans Today, 2013). As a matter of fact, homeless veterans do not have a permanent residence under their control. Homelessness in general includes those who fit what Martha Burt, et al. (2004) called “street homeless”, which they defined as single adults who spend a lot of time on the streets; and the “chronically homeless”, which they defined as “being disabled and either continuously homeless for a year or more or having at least four homeless episodes during the last three years.”

There are more than 500,000 homeless people in the United States.” In January 2014, communities across America identified 49,933 homeless veterans during point-in-time counts, which represents 8.6 percent of the total homeless population.” (http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/fact-sheet-veteran-homelessness). 91% are male, 98% are single, 76% live in the city, 54%have a lingering mental and/or physical disability. “... veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse…”(http://nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/). We sit here on our electronics while there are homeless veterans that chose to fight for our country and now that they’re

There are many misconceptions about the homeless such as the homeless are mentally ill and the homeless do not work. Not all homeless have a mental illness and “many homeless people are among the working” (Kendall, 2016). The state capitol of Indiana, “Indianapolis alone, there are 8,000 homeless people” (Indiana's News Leader, 2015). “Veterans were hit very hard” in the Indianapolis area with a 21 percent increase compared to the national average decreasing by 18 percent (Indiana's News Leader, 2015). Some sources calculate that the Veterans make up at least a quarter of the homeless

Veterans constitute approximately 11-12% of all homeless adults in the U.S. but only 9.7% of the total U.S. population.

The homeless veterans population has been a problem over the decades, but over the past few years the population of homeless veterans has increased once again. This is a concerning problem that needs to be attended to and human services is one of the ways to seek help. Veterans from previous wars had experience when they came back home lack of support that lead them to become homeless. Over the years this has gotten better by the government starting programs to help transition back to civilian status (Murphy & Tobin, 2014). Recently this has change due to the veteran population has increased for the last few years and there is not enough resources to provide the care that is needed. This was noticed and now the Veteran Affairs have put in

Homelessness is a current public health issue in California. The level of homeless individuals and families has risen over the past decade; this may be caused by economic change within society, a life changing event, or even drug misuse and abuse. Currently, California has a total of 113, 952 homeless individuals, and 12,096 of those being veterans (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2014). Veterans are individuals who served in armed forces for a short or long period of time. Once veterans have served their time and come back to their state, they suffer tremendously from mental illness such as post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. They lack medical attention, shelter, and they also

Homelessness is increasing more every year. In fact, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 640,000 people experience homelessness every